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Matariki Celebrations Draw People Home To The Eastern BOP
Matariki is a time to reflect, celebrate and prepare for the year ahead, and this year people are encouraged to return to their whānau, wherever and whoever that might be. In the Eastern Bay of Plenty, a special celebration will be held on Thursday...Listing Page Text
Looking After Mangakino’s Youth Benefits Entire Community
Mangakino School is a safe and welcoming space for its 50 or so primary-aged students but after school there is little to do other than hang around the local skate park. That’s why Mangakino Central Charitable Trust’s General Manager,...Listing Page Text
Helping Kōkako Stretch Their Wings
With electric blue wattles hanging beneath its beak, and a song described as hauntingly beautiful, the North Island kōkako is one of New Zealand’s most ancient flying birds. Its South Island counterpart hasn’t been seen for decades and...Listing Page Text
Home Maintenance Help For Tūwharetoa Homeowners
You can give a man a fish, or you can teach him how to fish – and Tūwharetoa Settlement Trust is taking the latter approach with their housing strategy called He Iwi Kāinga which has just received a $320,000 grant from BayTrust’s strategic...Listing Page Text
Guardians Of The Lake
Surrounded by lush native bush and shimmering every hue of blue and green imaginable, Rotorua’s lakes are the heart and soul of the Te Arawa region. For centuries they have drawn people to the Bay of Plenty to swim, fish, boat, waterski, kayak,...Listing Page Text
Improving Outcomes One Possum At A Time
Korehāhā Whakahau is more than a typical pest eradication programme – it is system change in action. The aspirational project aims to eliminate possums from 4700ha within Ngāti Awa’s rohe – including Whakatāne, Ōhope and Ōhiwa...Listing Page Text
School Children Ready To Embrace Te Ao Māori
Imagine a world where we understand our local history from all perspectives, have empathy with iwi, can practice tikanga in our daily lives and pronounce Māori words correctly. Soon an entire generation of school children will have a more...Listing Page Text
Prestigious Art Competition Remains At Home In Whakatāne
Winning the renowned Molly Morpeth Canaday Award is something hundreds of New Zealand artists strive to achieve each year. Named after a Wellington-born expressionist painter who passed away in the early 1970s, the award celebrates artistic...Listing Page Text
$1 Million Grant Announced To Help Revive Sick BOP Estuary
BayTrust is committing $1 million worth of funding over the next three years to the effort to restore the badly degraded Te Waihī estuary that was once a main food bowl for the coastal Bay of Plenty. Unimpeded farm development and...Listing Page Text
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Help Available Amid Tough Financial Times
Working with Taupō locals who are struggling to get on top of their finances is like peeling back layers of an onion, says the Family and Financial Solutions Trust. “When we see people it’s not unusual for them to only give you...Listing Page Text
Life Returns To Aongatete Forest
Life Returns To Aongatete Forest New Zealand’s native forests should be dark, with green shoots and seeds scattered across the forest floor and sunlight struggling to break through the dense canopy. They should also be extremely noisy; the...Listing Page Text
More Rotorua Students Set To Receive Values-Based Education
In an ideal world, our tamariki would all learn the values of integrity (pono), resilience (taikaha), positive relationships (whanaungatanga) and respect (manaakitanga) at a young age. But in some cases, children are missing out on these life lessons...Listing Page Text
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Community Spirit Shines Bright In Katikati
Sometimes it’s the littlest things that make a community special – like the free ‘help-yourself-to-produce’ stall; the bike repair stand; the yoga class; the school holiday ‘gloop’ session; or the afternoon board games...Listing Page Text
Providing A Collective Voice For Conservation
Providing A Collective Voice For Conservation New Zealanders are passionate about community conservation but we are losing our biodiversity at an alarming rate – along with volunteer interest. “A lot of conservation volunteers...Listing Page Text
Helping Youth with Disabilities
Helping Youth With An Intellectual Disability To Embrace Life Three years ago Recreate NZ brought its innovative programmes to the Bay of Plenty and now 80 or so local youth who experience a mild to moderate intellectual disabilities have a new lease...Listing Page Text
Volunteer Matching Service To Launch In Taupo
Volunteering for a good cause is something many Kiwis love to do – but finding the right organisation to help in the right way, isn’t always straight-forward. A new project called Volunteer Taupo is being developed in the central North...Listing Page Text
EDGE Workshops In Demand To Help Struggling Boys
When you don’t do well at school, and letters and numbers don’t come naturally, students can shut down very quickly. Many find traditional classrooms difficult and are kinesthetic learners – they learn best by doing, rather than...Listing Page Text
Restoring The Mauri Of Te Arawa’s Lakes
On the surface, Rotorua’s lakes glisten like jewels in the landscape – but in reality they are plagued by pests and poor water quality from years of pollution and irresponsible land use. No-one cares more deeply about restoring the mauri...Listing Page Text
Helping People Take Control of their chronic illness
Imagine not being able to walk from your bedroom to the living room without feeling exhausted and needing to lie down again. For tens of thousands of New Zealanders, that’s the reality of life with chronic fatigue and pain. Such illnesses can...Listing Page Text
Inspiring our Future Leaders in the Eastern Bay
Some of New Zealand’s most inspirational leaders hail from small, provincial towns, and now a youth-lead initiative called Future Leaders is helping light a spark within rangatahi across the Eastern Bay of Plenty and beyond. Since the programme...Listing Page Text
The Spirit of Excellence Education Trust to boost literacy and numeracy
'Raising the Standard' of Education for Rotorua Kids A child’s ability to read and write has a profound impact on their future success and wellbeing – but not everyone is getting the help they need to master these basic...Listing Page Text
BayTrust commits to the Sport BOP Coachforce programme for a further 3 years >
BayTrust has just approved 44 grants to different community groups across the region in their December funding round worth a total of $2.4m. Sport Bay of Plenty is the largest recipient and will now get $552,500 annually for the next three years (an...Listing Page Text
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New Ambulance Base - Waihau Bay
New Ambulance Base Now Within Reach For East Coast Community When the nearest hospital is two hours away, it’s essential a St John ambulance and trained volunteers are close at hand when there’s a medical emergency. That’s why the...Listing Page Text
Tackling the ‘Digital Divide’ in the Eastern Bay of Plenty
Today’s youngsters are often called ‘digital natives’ – in other words, they’ve grown up with the internet and instinctively know how to use technology. But that’s not the case in every community. A...Listing Page Text
Re-connecting & Re-engaging Isolated Youth
Te Ika Whenua Hauora is used to helping people overcome the impact of isolation. For almost 40 years they’ve helped remote communities such as Minginui, Ruatahuna, Waiohau and Kaiangaroa from their base in Murupara to combat everything...Listing Page Text
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Caring for Vulnerable Children
Supporting Those Who Care For Our Vulnerable Children Over 24,000 New Zealand children are currently living in foster or whānau care after being removed from their biological parents due to abuse or neglect. Thankfully, thousands of...Listing Page Text
Helping Turangi To Stand Proud
Supporting each other is a recipe for success in any small town – that’s why Safe Turangi is working hard alongside others to ensure Turangi is a proud community where everyone feels safe and connected. Safe Turangi is a small organisation...Listing Page Text
Forest Rescue Now A Vital Service For Mountain Bike Riders
Forest Rescue Now A Vital Service For Mountain Bike Riders As Charlotte Hamilton lay in excruciating pain on the floor of Rotorua’s Whakarewarewa Forest, she thought she might be paralysed. “Initially I couldn’t feel...Listing Page Text
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Helping older New Zealanders in Taupo
Helping Older New Zealanders Age Well In Taupo Taupo has always been a popular place to retire and with our ageing population, the need to look after older people in the region is more important than ever. Age Concern Taupo has this group’s...Listing Page Text
Guiding Katikati Youth Onto A Positive Path
The transition from high school to the real world can be daunting for young people, especially if they don’t have a clear tertiary education or employment pathway to follow. An estimated 200 or more rangatahi living between Waihi Beach and Te...Listing Page Text
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Kai Pai Rotorua
Nourishing Lunches Fill Young Bellies In Rotorua It’s hard to concentrate on schoolwork when you have an empty stomach. Sadly that’s a reality for hundreds of Rotorua children every day. But a new low-cost school lunch order...Listing Page Text
Digital Learning Ready To Go Viral In Murupara
Digital Learning Ready To Go Viral In Murupara There’s no doubt the internet has changed our education system and the way Kiwi kids learn – the trouble is, not everyone has access to it. That’s why Te Aka Toitū...Listing Page Text
Transforming Young lives through tech
We live in a digital world but not everyone can afford an internet connection at home – and that’s why Murupara’s new Digital Hub is in such hot demand. The doors officially opened in mid-September and Digital Hub Manager Ima Nuku is...Listing Page Text
Door Finally Opens To Home Ownership For Tauranga Family
With steady jobs, a combined income of almost $200,000 and a sizeable deposit saved, buying a home sounds like a straight-forward process for Kim and Corey Samuel, and Kim’s parents, Angie and Michael Ryan. But their experience has been far from...Listing Page Text
Growing Food, Knowledge & Community Spirit in Taupō
Our desire to look after our planet, live self-sufficient lifestyles, and reduce our grocery bills is benefitting Taupō Community Gardens as growing your own fruit and vegetables is becoming more popular. “Financially times are tough for a lot...Listing Page Text
Legal Problems Are A Piece Of Cake At Baywide Community Law
Baywide Community Law looks like any other professional law firm – except clients often ‘pay’ for legal services with donations of home-baked cakes or potted plants instead of money. The law centre caters for people who cannot afford...Listing Page Text
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Putting Rotorua Locals In The Driver’s Seat
No matter our background, physical or mental capabilities, we all want to feel as though we ‘belong’ within our community. Rotorua’s Te Aratu Trust has been helping people with mental and intellectual disabilities do exactly that for...Listing Page Text
Surf’s Up In the BOP This Summer
With sizzling temperatures forecast and regional lockdowns finally starting to ease, there’s one place Kiwis will be heading en masse this summer – to the beach. Keeping everyone safe once they get there is a job that falls to hundreds of...Listing Page Text
Restoring, Regenerating & Rebuilding Waiariki’s Waterways
Stream banks, roadside verges and rail corridors around Rotorua are brimming with gorse and blackberry – and Tipu Waiariki Charitable Trust sees a major environmental opportunity to transform our region’s landscape. By removing weeds and...Listing Page Text
Western Heights Champions Help Shape Community’s Future
Western Heights Champions Help Shape Community’s Future Pictured: Owen Roberts and Veena Kameta Veena Kameta knows the Rotorua suburb of Western...Listing Page Text
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Why Volunteering Is New Zealand’s Beating Heart
Why Volunteering Is New Zealand’s Beating Heart Volunteering your time to help others is part of our Kiwi culture – from coaching kids’ sports teams, to running the local marae or contributing to your church or school. However the...Listing Page Text
Solar Energy Powers School Camp Forward
Ngamuwahine Outdoor Education Lodge, in the lower Kaimais, is where lifelong memories are made for 3000 school children every year. Eleven schools currently send their students there on school camp to enjoy outdoor adventures such as kayaking,...Listing Page Text
Small Town finding ways forward for their youth
A New Way Forward For Turangi’s Youth Small town New Zealand is a wonderful place to grow up but having ‘nothing to do’ outside of school hours is a problem that generations of youngsters have faced. It seems Turangi may have...Listing Page Text
Whakatane’s Heart Is Beating Strong
You can measure a community’s spirit by the size of its heart – and in Whakatane, that heart is sizeable indeed. The Have a Heart charitable trust was founded in 2013. Their purpose is to grow great families at the heart of Eastern Bay of...Listing Page Text
Rotorua Builds New Bridges To Employment
National unemployment figures might look low on paper but Rotorua employers say there’s not a shortage of people to employ – rather a shortage of people who are ready for employment. According to latest figures from the Ministry of Social...Listing Page Text
Re-Establishing Wetlands & Turangawaewae
Kathleen Morrison was 12 years-old when 25ha of her family’s ancestral land was signed over to the Crown to manage – and she was aged 60 when her whanau finally got ownership rights back through the Māori Land Court. Now she...Listing Page Text
More Night Owls Appearing All Over Tauranga
Kimberley Cleland loves seeing the joy on people’s faces when they go to a Night Owl cinema event for the first time. “There’s something a little bit magic about being outside, huddled under the stars together, enjoying a...
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Switching Focus From Sea To Land
When a former cargo vessel was donated by Stoney Creek Shipping to YWAM (Youth With A Mission) Aotearoa in Tauranga in early 2019, the vision was clear – raise some funds, transform it into a medical aid ship, and set sail for remote Pacific Island...Listing Page Text
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Getting Taupō’s Workforce Ready To Face The Future
Growing a provincial town’s economy in the wake of COVID-19 is no easy task but Enterprise Great Lake Taupō is certainly up for the challenge. The economic development agency was first established in 2007 and will this year embark on an...Listing Page Text
New Whanau Mentoring Programme Set To Launch In Tauranga
New Whanau Mentoring Programme Set To Launch In Tauranga Child poverty is a big issue in New Zealand but it’s impossible to help our vulnerable youngsters by focussing on their needs alone. That’s why the Salvation Army is launching a...Listing Page Text
Helping Taupo’s Rural Residents Look Out For One Another
Helping Taupo’s Rural Residents Look Out For One Another Joy Johnson knows there are many reasons why rural residents don’t bother to call police when a burglary occurs or stock goes missing. “They think it’ll take police...Listing Page Text
Renewed Energy and Enthusiasm For Whakatane Bluelight >
Keeping kids busy goes a long way to keeping them out of trouble – and the Bluelight programme run by Whakatane Police is certainly doing just that. The region’s new Bluelight co-ordinator, Richard Hamer, took up the role 18 months ago and...Listing Page Text